Improvement of the Standard Chimney Electrostatic Precipitator by Dividing the Flue Gas Stream into a Larger Number of Pipes

Jozef Jandačka,Juraj Trnka,Michal Holubčík

doi:10.3390/app12052659

Abstract

Combustion of biomass-based solid fuels is becoming increasingly popular, especially in small heat sources. A major problem in the combustion of biomass is the increased production of emissions and especially the solid component of PM particles. Currently, the most used solution to this problem is the application of electrostatic chimney separators, which innovations are discussed in our article. Two models of electrostatic precipitators were constructed in this work. The aim of this work was to compare the use of a standard single-pipe chimney electrostatic precipitator with a newer four-pipe variant. Eight measurements were performed on both devices with and without the use of an electrostatic precipitator, on the basis of which the separation efficiency was evaluated for both variants. The results of the measurements showed the initial value of the average PM production in the one-pipe variant decreased from 1012 to 416 mg.m−3 when using the separator, while in the use of the four-pipe variant it decreased from the starting value 342 to only 152 mg.m−3. These results show that the improvement of the classic single-pipe separator by increasing the number of tubes significantly reduced the production of PM emissions and increased the separation efficiency from 66 to 85%.

Highlights

Particulate matter emissions released into the environment from thermal decomposition of fuel because of human activity are currently one of the most serious environmental burdens
The first prototypes of commercially available chimney electrostatic precipitators are slowly beginning to appear on the market
This work focused on improving the separation efficiency of a standard chimney separator by increasing the number of pipes

Summary

Introduction

Particulate matter emissions released into the environment from thermal decomposition of fuel because of human activity are currently one of the most serious environmental burdens. The main source of PM emissions is the combustion of solid fuels in small heat sources, the number of which is constantly growing This trend is increased by the promotion of biomass as a renewable resource, which is becoming the preferred alternative to cleaner but more expensive fossil natural gas. In addition to promoting green energy from biomass, the European Union’s policy aims to reduce emissions from combustion devices that are constantly innovated to reach new standards. This effort of design modifications on the combustion devices significantly reduces their emissivity while guaranteeing optimal combustion conditions. Evidence of this is one Chinese research report that shows a 76%

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